Pad eor fruit containers



June 14,1927. I 1,632,722

J. H. WOODALL PAD FOR FRUIT CONTAINERS Filed May 13, 1926 'INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 14, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN H. WOOIlALL, F WOODLAND, GEORGIA.

PAD FOR FRUIT CONTAINERS.

Application filed May 13,

This invention relates to improvements in pads'or cushions such as are employed in packing fruit in crates and baskets for shipment. In shipping certain fruits, peaches in crates for an instance, it isan advantage to pack the fruit somewhat tightly in the container to prevent shifting and consequent chafing to the injury of the fruit. In this method of packing it is the practice to fill the container with the fruit and then place over the same a resilient pad, against which is closed and fastened the cover of the container. The cover and pad apply pressure to the fruit and preventshifting of the same, the pad also prevents contact of the fruit with the under side of the cover and bruising is thereby avoided; also, the top layer of fruit being embedded somewhat in the pad, is held against lateral displacement. As these pads are intended to be use but once, they must be inexpensive as possible; ordinarily they are formed of a cheap cas-' ing filled with excelsior.

The fruit so packed is shipped in refrig 25 erator cars in which much moisture is present. In such shipments it has been found that the pads in ordinary use absorb con-- siderable moisture and become soggy so that: th excelsior loses its resiliency to such an extent that pressure is no longer exerted on the fruit and the latteris so loosened that it is liable to become injured by subsequent rough handling of the crates. Also, when the pad becomes soggy its contact with the fruit has a tendency to soften the skin. Furthermore, owing to the soggy condition of the pad casing, the fibres of the paper lose their cohesive property and this paper is easily broken, so that in subsequent. han

dling the pad is ruptured with a consequent v litter. This litter detracts from the appearance of the fruit whenthe crate is opened Q, for display by the retailer and must be re moved with considerable trouble so that a,

pleasing showing of the goods can be made. Also, the ruptured pad cannot be used should there be further shipment of the g,

. water in the pastewas not absorbed, or. but

very slowly. and. the paste continuedjn a. state of fluidity until the water evaporated.

crate and a new pad would be required.

The purpose of the. present inventlon 1s the production of a pad that is inexpensive used." I I i v It may bev stated here that in the 111511111:

1926. Serial no. 108,955.

to manufacture and which will avoid the objectionable features of the-"padsin ordinary use as hereinbefore pointed out. In'the inthe stronger absorbent papers ordinarily facture of these padsin largeiquantities a form ngn achineis used through which are fed the waterproof-paper in a continuous web and the excelsiorfin a continuous bat, the latter being deposited on the former.

As the associated materials travel through the forming nachine,the sides of' the web (the paper being wider than the bat) are gradually foldedover the edges of the bat until the folds overlap an intermediate or supplemental reinforcing strip of paper fed onto the top of the bat. During the progress of the material through the forn'iing machine the edge parts of the web folds are pasted to the intermediate, strip. v.Whentthe formed material reaches the rear end of the' forming machine, it is, cut by a reciprocating blade into sectionsjfeach of which is a complete pad exceptthatthe ends of the casing are open'and these are subsequently clpsed by folded: strips of sealing paper.

Itfwas attempted to make the pad casing" entirely of the thi rwaterproof paper, but difliculty was experienced'in pasting the partstogether'f VVliexr the paste "was ap-. plied and the parts'brought together. they did not quickly adhere owing to the 1011- 1 absorbent property of the paper, for; the

This slowed the operation of the machine in the formation of the continuous padding, and also in the application of closing strips at the ends of the casing. These ditficulties were overcome to a great extent by forming the pad casing in part of ordinary paper. As the latter is much cheaper than the waterproof paper, its use lessened the cost of production. Also this ordinary paper could be used in a much thicker grade so as to strengthen the casing. Furthermore,

this ordinary paper is absorbent to a considerable degree and when pasted to the waterproof paper, the former quickly absorbs the water in the paste and thereby hastens the'adhesion. 4

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the back .of a pad embodying the proposed form of the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are, respectively, sectional views on the lines 22 and 3-3 of Fi 1.

Referring to the drawings, which ilustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention, to facilitate the description, the lower or under side of the pad with reference to the position it occupies in the crate will be termed the face and the top or upper side the back of the pad. The face 5 of the pad is formed of a sheet of waterproof paper that extends over the entire face and at its sides it is continued around the sides of. the pad to partly overlap, as at 6, the back 7. Extending longitudinally of the back 7 is the reinforcing strip 8 of ordinary tough paper, which extends the entire length of the pad and nearly the entire width. This strip 8 is overlapped at its sides by the extensions 6 of the face sheet, the overlappin parts being pasted together.

' The ends of t e casing are closed by the transverse reinforcing strips 9 folded over the ends and pasted to the face and back. The strips 9 are also of ordinary tough paper.

The transverse reinforcing strips 9 close the ends of the casing and also unite the ends of the longitudinal reinforcing strip 8 with the adjacent ends of the waterproof paper. By uniting in this way the waterproof paper with the longitudinal and transverse reinforcing strips, the comparatively frail waterproof paper is held and protected by the much stronger stri s. Enclose-d within this casing is a bat o excelsior 10, proyiding the resilient cushion for the pad. It 1s obvious that other resilient fibrous material, such aS cotton, hair and the like may be used for the filling.

By experience I have found that it is a great advantage to provide the pad with a waterproof face, the part of the pad that contacts with the fruit, to separate the excelsior from the fruit, for the excelsior is apt to become more or less soggy through absorption of moisture in the refrigerator car. \Vith ordinary paper, which is absorbent to a considerable extent, interposed between the soggy excelsior and the fruit, the paper would also become soggy and its contact with the fruit would have a tendency to soften the skin of the fruit; this would be particularly so should the fruit be fully ripe, or nearly so. It would be an advantage to enclose completely the excelsior packing in a waterproof closure. This would not only prevent the contact of soggy material with the fruit, but the excelsior would be maintained in a comparatively dry condition and would retain its resiliency for a longer period. However, to form the entire casing of waterproof paper, would increase the expense of production somewhat over that of the pad having only its face formed of such material. Furthermore, the cost of production would be increased by the difiiculty encountered in pasting together waterproof surfaces. 1

As the pads are intended to be used but once, that is for a single shipment, their cost must be kept as low as possible. In the cost of material, that of the water-proof paper is the greatest; it is to lessen this expense that the ordinary paper is used for the back of the pad. As the ordinar paper is comparatively cheap, :1, strong thick paper can be employed for the back of the casing. This paper imparts considerable strength to the casing so that the waterproof pa er may be of a very flimsy character; it is desirable to employ the thinnest waterproof paper possible as it is the cheapest. Also, by the use of the ordinary paper in the back insert strip and end closures, through the absorbent n-operty of such paper, the paste sets quic er as the water is absorbed by the paper. In addition, by using the comparatively heavy and tough paper for the back insert strip, an advantage is obtained in cutting the batting into pad sections. In the cutting operation a shearing knife is employed.

As the knife descends on the material it effects a pulling or drawing action on the casing that has a tendency to tear the top layer of paper. To offset this tendency the padding, in the preferred form of the invention, is fed to the cutting mechanism so that the back having the tough pa er insert is uppermost so as to be engage first by the descending knife so that when it is.

drawn and pressed down before the actual cutting takes place, the tough nature of the paper prevents tearing. This tough paper insert also serves to stiffen the completed pad so that it can stand rough handling.

What I claim is; A pad for fruit containers comprising a hat of resilient fibrous material and a casin forcing strips of tough paper folded over for the bat consisting of a face part forme the ends of the casing with the folds of the of waterproof paper, a back part formed of transverse strips overla ping and adhering a longitudinal reinforcing strip of tough to the marginal ends 0 the face and back 6. paper with its marginal sides overlapped by parts of the cas' A and adherin' to the marginal sides of the In testimony v c 'fiereof I aflix my signature.

waterproof ace part, and transverse rein- JOHN H. WOODALL. 

